Half to william s



(No Model.) v I W. MILLSPAUGH.

TOOL HANDLE.

Patented Jan. 10, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM MILLSPAUGH, OF MIDDLETOWN, NEYV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO \VlLLIAlVI S. BURLING, OF SAME PLACE.

TOOL-HANDLE;

SPECIFICATION forming pm of Letters Patent No. 376,413, dated January 10, 1888.

Application filed June 28, 1887. Serial No. 242,751. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be itknown that I,WILLIAM MILLSPAUGH, of Middletown, in the county of Orange and State of New York, have invented cert-ain'new and useful Improvements in Tool-Handles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to. which it appertainsto make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in tool-handles, and more particularly in handles for hammers, hatchets, sledgcs, axes, and pickaxes.

Oonstantuse has proved that not only the weakest part oftool-han'dles, but also the portion most liable to receivewearand bruises, is the neck of the handle, or that portion nearest the metal head.

The object of my presentinvention is to provide a guard or strengtheningplate for toolhandles.

A further object is to provide a means for making a stable and unyielding fit between the head-socket and handle, and also means for locking the handle securely in the head.

With these ends in View my inventio'n con sists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter tached view in cross section on the line as w of Fig. 1.

A' represents an ordinary hammer-head, hav

ing formed therein the usual socket, a. which receives the handle, and transversely through the socket the perforation b is formed.

B represents the hammer-handle enlarged at one end, restricted at the neck, and slightly tapering at the opposite end, 0, to enter the socket in the head. From this end 0 through the neck, preferably to the enlarged portion, the handle is provided with a slit, d, extending longitudinally with the head or breadth of the handle. Ametallic guard or stiffening-plate, c, enters this slit, and its width is such that the edges extend flush with the edges of the handle, so that when inserted in the handle it is entirely out of the way and does not injure the appearance of the handle. The plate and handle are provided with perfora tions 0, adapted to receive rivets. The handle is secured in the head by a rivet. Or-

dinarilya rivetthrough the head is of little use in securing the head to the handle for various reasons; but with the use of the metallic plate there is no liability ,of the rivet tearing its way through the end of the handle. Besides presenting a hard edge to knocks and punishment to which tool-handles are continually subjected, and also giving increased strength to the handle, the edges of the tapered portion of the handle, which enter the socket of the head, form an unyielding surface which will wear as long as the head itself.

It is evident that all tool-handles might be supplied with one of these guards or strengthening-plates, and that slight changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing "from the spirit and scope of my invention;

hence I do no h-tolimit myself to the particular cons ruction here] set forth; but,

' Having fully described In invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. As a new article of manufacture, a tool consisting, essentially, of a head having a socket for a handle and a perforation, a handie, and a guard and strengthening-plate secured in'the handle, the said head and handle being secured together by a rivet passing through the head, handle, and plate, substantially as set forth.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a tool consisting, essentially, of a handle having one end slotted,,a guard and strengthening'plate secured in said slotted end with its edges flush with the edges of the handle, and a tool-head having a socket, within which the slotted end of the handle is secured, substantially as set forth.

3. A tool consisting, essentially, of a handle having a slotted end, a guard and strengthening-plate located within said slot and secured therein by rivets passing through the handle 5 and plate, and a tool-head having a socke within which the slotted end of the handle is secured, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification 'in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM MILLSPAUGH.

Vitnesses:

W. S. BURLING, FRANK B. HATHAWAY. 

